Professional registration is a journey and the PWI is here to support you along the way. Professional Registration is an important step in pursuing a career in engineering and it lends itself to a ready-made career path, progressing through the grades as your experience broadens and deepens.
Putting those letters after your name – EngTech, IEng or CEng – instantly tells employers, clients and wider society that your competence and understanding of engineering principles has been independently assessed, that you have the knowledge, skills and professional attitude they value, and that you are committed to developing and enhancing your competence. It sets you apart from your non-registered peers.
ENGINEERING TECHNICIANS apply proven techniques and procedures to the solution of practical engineering problems.
INCORPORATED ENGINEERS maintain and manage applications of current and developing technology, and may undertake engineering design, development, manufacture, construction and operation.
CHARTERED ENGINEERS develop solutions to complex engineering problems using new or existing technologies, and through innovation, creativity and technical analysis.
There are two parts to professional registration at every grade:
ACADEMIC COMPETENCE
PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE
They have to be satisfied in that order. As a general guide you will be able to meet both requirements if you have:
As you can see, the academic requirements grow between the levels, so achieving one grade does not automatically mean you can progress to the next – you will need to demonstrate additional knowledge and understanding before you can apply for registration for a different title.
Some qualifications are recognised by the Engineering Council as meeting the academic competence requirements. If yours is not listed, our Academic Panel can assess whether it exemplifies the requirements and exempts you from any further learning or demonstration of academic competence. If you do not hold a relevant qualification, you can use all your years of industry experience to demonstrate that you have the equivalent knowledge and understanding instead. Get in touch with us and we can ensure you start off on the right track.
Take a look at the Competence and Commitment Criteria for EngTech, IEng and CEng which are broadly similar at each level – examples for each are given to help you identify appropriate experiences from your career. Use these to help you gauge where you are at now, and to plan your professional development needs in the short, medium and long term. By plotting your career experiences against each of them, you can see where the gaps are and then actively look for opportunities that will allow you to explain and describe how you have demonstrated that competence in the future. The five generic areas of competence and commitment for all registrants broadly cover:
A – knowledge and understanding
B – design, development and solving engineering problems
C – responsibility, management and leadership
D – communication and interpersonal skills
E – personal and professional commitment
Maintaining registration requires continued membership of the PWI which ensures you are exposed to new industry developments and opportunities to maintain and enhance your competence. As a registrant, you are also committed to ethical and sustainable principles, compliance with our Code of Professional Conduct, and recording and reflecting on your CPD.
Reflecting on your CPD activities and what you learned or achieved through them, relating it to planned objectives, will help determine your future needs and plan accordingly as a cyclical process.
Professional registration is a journey and the PWI is here to support you along the way.
Liz Turner
Registration Manager profeng@thepwi.org